Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Thanks to those of you who were able to check out Show 86 from Washington, DC. (You can still listen to the show in the player above, or, even download the show here and listen anytime). Of course, it was National Doctors Day when this show was recorded and I talked a little bit about that at the top of the show. I also shared my experience with my quick trips to Baltimore and Washington. At the end of the show, I talked about the exciting April schedule for The Doctor Anonymous Show. I travel home this afternoon and return to real life. It's always nice to take some time off every once in a while. I should really do this more :)

Saturday, March 28, 2009

Just wanted to let you know that there is no Doctor Anonymous Show tonight as I will be observing "Earth Hour" by not doing a show tonight - just kidding. Actually, I will be out of town this weekend for some rest and relaxation. Where am I going? Well, you will know if you follow me on twitter. I'll give the updates as I go along.

However, I will be doing a special Monday night edition of The Doctor Anonymous Show from my "undisclosed location" on Monday, March 30th, 2009 at 6pm Eastern Time. I'll be talking about my weekend and also talking about Doctors Day.

If you didn't already know, the HUGE Medbloggers meetup has been finalized. It will be in October and it will be in Las Vegas at Blog World Expo/New Media Expo. This was announced by our buddy Emergiblog yesterday. So, I'll be talking about that as well.

Finally, in the video above, it is the end of Show 85 where I talk about this news story from CNN. Sometimes out of tragedy does come good news. What am I talking about? Well, check out the video and find out. Have a great weekend everybody!

Friday, March 27, 2009

Thanks to Brandice and Angelo for coming on Show 85 to talk about Podcamp Ohio. (Check out the video post above. You can also listen to the show on the player here, and even download the show here and listen anytime.)

Brandice and Angelo helped me talk through possibly giving a session at this year's Podcamp Ohio. In medical blogging and podcasting, patient privacy issues are something that is always talked about with my friends and colleagues in the industry. Angelo also gave some suggestions about possibly talking about health and medicine information resources out there on the internet. With regards to Podcamp, Angelo gave some updates on sessions, registration, and lodging for the event.

To close out the show tonight, I talked about this story entitled "Natasha's lesson help saves Ohio girl." This is the last 10 minutes of the show where I give some commentary on this story. I'll also try to put up a video post on this coming up soon.

Just FYI, there will be no Saturday night show as I will be out of town. Where am I going? Well, keep track of my on Twitter and you will get some clues there. In addition, I am considering doing a special Monday night show from on location from where I'm at. As I have talked about before, Monday, March 30th will be National Doctors Day. So, don't forget your favorite doc on Monday. Have a great weekend everybody!

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Tonight, The Doctor Anonymous Show will be talking Podcamp Ohio. And, we will be doing something unique on the show. I need your help, because I'm thinking about doing a session at this year's event. The only idea that I have is that it will be related to medicine and new media. Other than that, the possibilities are endless.

My guest will be our buddy Brandice who has her own website and a very popular podcast called STeaP which is centered around the topic of tea. In addition to talk about her projects, I'm going to have her help me brainstorm about doing a session at this year's Podcamp.

If you are new to the show, I encourage you to catch us live. There is a great chat room that also goes on. You can even see my shining face on the webcam. In addition, you can call into the show to say hello. Can't catch us live? That's ok. You can listen anytime after the show as it is saved as a podcast so you can listen later.

For first time Blog Talk Radio listeners:*Although it is not required to listen to the show, I encourage you to register on the BlogTalkRadio site prior to the show. I think it will make the process easier.

*To get to my show site, click here. As show time gets closer, keep hitting "refresh" on your browser until you see the "Play/Chat" button. Then, of course, press the "Play/Chat" button.

*You can also participate in the live chat room before, during, and after the show. Look for the green "Chat Now" button. If you are registered with the BTR site, your registered name and picture will appear in the chat room.

*You can also call into the show. The number is on my show site. If you have a headset microphone, you can "call" into the show by looking for the "Click To Talk" button at the top of the chat box to try out the BTR VoIP option. Hope these tips are helpful!

Over the past few weeks, I've been using Facebook as a video sharing site for the show. Everything has been going great until tonight when I'm looking at my blog page and all I see is "Video Unavailable." That's not good. I hope that it is a temporary thing. I have the "privacy" settings so that "everybody" can see them. So, let me know, can you see any of the videos that I have recently posted? If not, then I may have to find another video sharing site. Yeesh.

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

On this week's Doctor Anonymous Show, I'm going to do something that I have never done before on the show. That's right, I'm asking you - the devoted Doctor Anonymous listener and reader of the blog - to help me create a presentation which I will give at PodCamp Ohio 2.

We'll be talking Podcamp Ohio this week on the show. Our good friend Brandice from Brandice.Net will join me and we will throw around ideas for a possible medicine/healthcare/new media talk to take place June 20, 2009 in Columbus, Ohio at this year's Podcamp Ohio. We'll also get and update on the event as well as talking with Brandice about her website and other projects.

What the heck should I talk about? How would you want a medicine & new media talk to go at an event like this? The possibilities are endless. So, join me and Brandice on Thursday, March 26, 2009 at 9pm Eastern Time on BlogTalkRadio as we talk about this any other topics. Hope to see you for the show. (Don't forget to check out the video post above)

Monday, March 23, 2009

In case you didn't know, National Doctor's Day is March 30th. Information from Wikipedia shows the following about the day:

The first Doctors Day observance was March 30, 1933 in Winder, Georgia. Eudora Brown Almond, wife of Dr. Charles B. Almond, decided to set aside a day to honor physicians. This first observance included the mailing greeting cards and placing flowers on graves of deceased doctors. The red carnation is commonly used as the symbolic flower for National Doctors Day.

On March 30, 1958, a Resolution Commemorating Doctors Day was adopted by the United States House of Representatives. In 1990, legislation was introduced in the House and Senate to establish a national Doctors Day. Following overwhelming approval by the United States Senate and the House of Representatives, on October 30, 1990, President George Bush signed S.J. RES. #366 (which became Public Law 101-473) designating March 30th as "National Doctors Day."

In the video above, I describe something that my hospital is doing this year. It's kind of funny, but there is a ballot that is floating through the hospital asking people to vote in particular categories like the following: Easiest to Call at 2am, Most Appreciative, Best Handwriting, Best Jokes, etc.

Update: I apologize for not having the video above not working. When I first posted this, Facebook was allowing people to see the video, and now not so much. I did set the privacy settings to "everyone." But, that didn't work. Maybe they mean "everyone" logged into Facebook. Anyway, I'm going to upload the video to another site and repost here when available.

In case you missed it, here is the last portion of Show 84 from last week. In the video above, I talked with Mother Jones about my musical self in college and medical school. You can also check out a phone call from RockDog earlier in the show. Want to listen to the podcast from the show? Well, that's easy, click here and you'll get all the details.

Friday, March 20, 2009

Thanks so much to Trauma Junkie for being a guest on the show. His blog is called "Surviving RT School" - meaning respiratory therapy school. We talked about his passion and interest in respiratory therapy and why he chose that career in the medical field. We also talked about the training process for RT - which I admit I didn't know much about.

We also discussed the blog carnival which he created called "A Source of Inspiration." This carnival highlights respiratory therapy and they have already had one edition that has been posted. The second edition is due at the end of the month with the deadline for blog post submissions is around March 27th.

After the interview, the Rev. RockDog called into the show to talk about his role in last week's Annie and Burl Live show and previewing this week's show. Mother Jones called in to discuss my recent activity on facebook. I encourage you to check out the show in the player above, or you can download the show here. Also check out the video post above. Thanks for your continued support for the show. I appreciate it!

Thursday, March 19, 2009

This week, The Doctor Anonymous Show is proud to welcome the blogger named "Trauma Junkie" to the show. In addition to talking about his blog called "Surviving RT School," we'll also be talking about a brand new blog carnival that TJ created called "A Source of Inspiration" which highlights the area of respiratory therapy. Also check out TJ's promo post about the show over on his blog.

If you are new to the show, I encourage you to catch us live. There is a great chat room that also goes on. You can even see my shining face on the webcam. In addition, you can call into the show to say hello. Can't catch us live? That's ok. You can listen anytime after the show as it is saved as a podcast so you can listen later.

For first time Blog Talk Radio listeners:*Although it is not required to listen to the show, I encourage you to register on the BlogTalkRadio site prior to the show. I think it will make the process easier.

*To get to my show site, click here. As show time gets closer, keep hitting "refresh" on your browser until you see the "Play/Chat" button. Then, of course, press the "Play/Chat" button.

*You can also participate in the live chat room before, during, and after the show. Look for the green "Chat Now" button. If you are registered with the BTR site, your registered name and picture will appear in the chat room.

*You can also call into the show. The number is on my show site. If you have a headset microphone, you can "call" into the show by looking for the "Click To Talk" button at the top of the chat box to try out the BTR VoIP option. Hope these tips are helpful!

We've all been there. There is nothing more annoying than stepping into a room to assess your patient, administer a medication, or carry out an order, and just as you have everything set up to do what you need to do, RRRRINNNNGGG. "Yeah, um, I'm gonna have to take this. Can you come back in a minute?"

Sometimes I do, and to be honest, sometimes I don't. Sometimes I tell the patient that if I do not do this now, I won't be able to come back for a few hours, and I will have to chart their refusal. It sounds rude, but sometimes you just have to do things like that. A few thoughts come to mind when a patient feels their phone call is more important than the "acute" care they are receiving in the hospital:

1. They really aren't very sick2. They really aren't very smart3. They really aren't very nice

And of course, any combination of the three. You see, it's all about the patient having their rights, and I totally understand that. If they have to talk to a husband from Iraq, that's okay. If their But at the same time, patients should understand that they have been admitted to the hospital for urgent, around the clock care, because a doctor has deemed it necessary.

However, as much as this pushes my buttons (and I hope you can just feel my anger), the newest thing I have observed is not only the patients talking on their cell phone, but...

The doctor? Yes, the doctor.

So, I invite you to check out the show (where we'll talk about this post, his blog, and his blog carnival) on Thursday, March 19th, 2009 at 9pm Eastern Time on BlogTalkRadio for The Doctor Anonymous Show. Can't catch the show live? Well, that's ok. Every show is made into a podcast where you can download later and listen anytime. See you for the show!

This week, I've been going through some old video tapes and found this news report. Back in September 2004, I was asked to take part in a news conference to educate the community about the medical liability crisis in this part of the state. This meeting was put together by our three local county medical societies. We also wanted to get the word out on the state supreme court candidates our groups were supporting during that election cycle. The cool thing for me was that there were about 3-4 other panelists, but who got the sound bytes on the news? Cool, huh.

Monday, March 16, 2009

Over the weekend was "The Night Shift" with Dr. A and Kat. We talked a little news like the latest in the Anna Nicole case. I shared that I'm gonna be on local news for a 3 minute health segment on Monday afternoon. March is National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month and I'll be discussing that on Monday afternoon. Kat shared a story about a ghost in her house - Hmm. Finally, there was a short comedy bit about having a "call screener" for the show. You can listen to the show on the player above. Or, you can download the show here. Also, enjoy the video post above. Happy Monday!

Friday, March 13, 2009

Thanks so much to MudPhudder for being my guest on Show 82. We talked about his path to medical school and graduate school. It's always great hearing why choose the career path that they choose. He also explained some of the training process for MD/PhD students. (You can listen to the show on the player above or download the show here.)

His graduate school work was in immunology and he explained very well what that is for those who are unfamiliar. We also talked about his experience with the residency interview process. Sure, there are flaws, and MP talked about them. How to improve the process? That's the tough part. We also talked about how you answer this question - "What makes you a better applicant for this residency program verses someone else?"

Finally, we talked about his fabulous blog. His blogroll is full of academic and research blogs. I always enjoy checking out other blogrolls in that they help expose to me subjects that I may not know much about. Finally, MP and I answered a callers question about an interesting topic. You'll have to listen to the show to find out what that was. How did we handle the caller? Let us know. (Also don't forget to check out the video post above)

Don't forget to join us on Saturday, March 14th at 9pm Eastern Daylight Time for "The Night Shift with Dr. A." My co-host Kat and I will talk about interesting news stories (to me). And, who knows what else will come up? Have a great weekend and see you for The Night Shift!

So I’m new to the blogging community so let me tell you a few things about myself. I am an 8th year MD/PhD student at a large academic center. I have been a medical student, then a graduate student–my PhD was in immunology, and now a medical student again. I will hopefully be graduating from medical school this May and I am currently in the exciting process of applying for a residency position for next June/July. My main hobbies usually revolve around some kind of exercise–mostly weightlifting. That’s me in a nutshell (sadly?). Perhaps more like an onion with many layers underneath each one peeled back. I don’t know if that’s anymore appealing.

We're going to talk a little about the blog and a little about how it is to be a medical student these days. MP has asked me to keep the anonymity and I totally understand that. So, you the devoted Dr. A listener will see how I can skillfully ask these questions during this interview as not to jeopardize that request.

If you are new to the show, I encourage you to catch us live. There is a great chat room that also goes on. You can even see my shining face on the webcam. In addition, you can call into the show to say hello. Can't catch us live? That's ok. You can listen anytime after the show as it is saved as a podcast so you can listen later.

For first time Blog Talk Radio listeners:*Although it is not required to listen to the show, I encourage you to register on the BlogTalkRadio site prior to the show. I think it will make the process easier.

*To get to my show site, click here. As show time gets closer, keep hitting "refresh" on your browser until you see the "Play/Chat" button. Then, of course, press the "Play/Chat" button.

*You can also participate in the live chat room before, during, and after the show. Look for the green "Chat Now" button. If you are registered with the BTR site, your registered name and picture will appear in the chat room.

*You can also call into the show. The number is on my show site. If you have a headset microphone, you can "call" into the show by looking for the "Click To Talk" button at the top of the chat box to try out the BTR VoIP option. Hope these tips are helpful!

Update: Thanks so much to KevinMD and to Ramona for spreading the word about the show. I appreciate it!

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

One of our favorite bloggers out there, Kerri from SixUntilMe, is at it again. In addition to great video blog posts about her diabetes, every once in a while, she puts together a blooper reel for our enjoyment. For this one, I'm only going to say this: Garbage Truck! Garbage Truck! - You'll get the idea. Great job Kerri!

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

The Doctor Anonymous Show is happy to welcome the blogger MudPhudder to the show. Mudphudder is a senior medical student who has a blog of the same name. In addition to the blog, we'll be talking about the upcoming Match Day which will be next week. Match Day, as most of you out there know, is when soon-to-be-graduating medical students learn where they will do their residency.

You know, I’m sure we all understand the moral and ethical ramifications of stem cell research–and every other kind of research we do. Anytime we file an IRB application for human or animal research, we are faced with moral considerations. In the case of stem cell research, religious beliefs have caused substantial controversy. But I think this was a good thing–anytime conversation is stirred up about potentially dangerous or morally questionable research, it’s a good thing. It forces us to think about it and make sure we have the right regulatory steps in place.

But, when the president effectively dictates the cessation of this research then there is no longer any conversation, it is simply the execution of the president’s religious beliefs. It has been an unfortunate situation borne of ignorance and an obstinate belief; and ultimately put us eight years behind in unlocking the potential–or lack thereof (see, I’m open-minded)–of stem cell technology to address numerous human health problems.

So, join us on Thursday, March 12th, 2009 at 9pm Eastern Time for Doctor Anonymous Show 82. It's going to be a great conversation! Finally, thanks to those of you who have checked out Show 81 which was "The Night Show with Dr. A.." I did a little something different with sound bytes and news reports. Check it out. You'll be glad you did!

Sunday, March 08, 2009

Thanks to Kat for being my co-host for The Doctor Anonymous Show 81 tonight. It was, of course, "The Night Shift with Dr. A" where we talked about a bunch of news stories. (You can listen to the show on the player above, or you can even download the show here and listen anytime) Want more detail of what we talked about tonight? Well, check out the video above. Something else I did different was play a bunch of audio clips and then Kat and I did some commentary on them - which worked out great for the show.

Friday, March 06, 2009

Thanks to Dr. Brian from the blog "Parenting Solved" and to Dr. Gwenn from "Pediatrics Now" for being on The Doctor Anonymous Show Number 80. (You can listen to the show on the player above, or even download the show here and listen anytime) We had a great conversation about Dr. Brian's blog, his book called "Colic Solved," and the role of new media in medicine.

Following the interview, I shared some thoughts with regard to the Health Care Summit which took place at the White House on Thursday. You could maybe figure out my position on this stuff by reading this previous post, or this previous post. But, to really find out, I encourage you to listen to Show 80.

Finally, I invite you to check out the next exciting episode of "The Night Shift with Dr. A" which will be Saturday, March 7th, 2009 at 9pm Eastern Time. I will be joined by my co-host Kat. And on The Night Shift we talk a little about health, medicine, entertainment, pop culture, new media, and whatever else comes up. Have a great weekend, everybody!

Thursday, March 05, 2009

On Thursday, the White House will be conducting a "summit" to discuss health care issues. As he mentioned in his remarks to the join session of Congress, the president has placed health care reform near the top of his list of agenda items. Some, including myself, are concerned about the vision that the White House and Congress have for the US Health Care System. You can check out more in my video commentary above.

Update: Thanks so much to MedCityNews for linking to this blog post today. I appreciate it!

In the video above, you have a kind of behind the scenes look at what happens right before the show. It was from last week's show with Dr. Gwenn and Vicky & Jen. The video also shows the first few minutes of the show from my perspective. Dr. Gwenn will also have her first BlogTalkRadio show this afternoon called "A Dose of Dr. Gwenn."

For first time Blog Talk Radio listeners:*Although it is not required to listen to the show, I encourage you to register on the BlogTalkRadio site prior to the show. I think it will make the process easier.

*To get to my show site, click here. As show time gets closer, keep hitting "refresh" on your browser until you see the "Play/Chat" button. Then, of course, press the "Play/Chat" button.

*You can also participate in the live chat room before, during, and after the show. Look for the green "Chat Now" button. If you are registered with the BTR site, your registered name and picture will appear in the chat room.

*You can also call into the show. The number is on my show site. If you have a headset microphone, you can "call" into the show by looking for the "Click To Talk" button at the top of the chat box to try out the BTR VoIP option. Hope these tips are helpful!

Wednesday, March 04, 2009

One of our favorite pediatricians (and past co-host of The Doctor Anonymous Show), Dr. Gwenn O'Keeffe is starting her own BlogTalkRadio show tomorrow afternoon. The show is called "A Dose of Dr. Gwenn."

According to today's blog post on "Dr. Gwenn Is In", topics for show number one include the following: News You Can Use, What's Going Around, Mom Musings, Networked Families, Sports Stories, and Dr. Gwenn's Weekly Dose. She's also recorded a promo video above.

Best of luck to Dr. Gwenn as she starts "A Dose of Dr. Gwenn." And, her first show will be LIVE on Thursday, March 5th, 2009 at 4pm Eastern Time on BlogTalkRadio. Even if you cannot catch it live, you can download it later as a podcast and listen to it anytime. So, check it out! I know that I will....

All politics is local, right? Well, this morning, in our local news paper, it was announced that this NE Ohio county has almost 13 percent unemployment. That's definitely not good.

Columbiana County's estimated unemployment rate skyrocketed by nearly a third in January to 12.8 percent, well above the state and national averages. According to figures available Tuesday from the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, 6,900 county residents are listed as unemployed compared to 4,800 in December, when the local unemployment rate was 8.9 percent.

The estimated unemployment rate in January for Ohio was 9.7 percent and 8.5 percent for the United States. These are not the seasonably adjusted rates, which are lower and the ones commonly reported by the national news media. The unemployment rate was the highest in the county since April 1984, when it stood at 12.9 percent and was declining from a peak of 21 percent reached in January 1983 at the height of the 1981-82 recession.

I definitely see that in my patients. We talk about it a lot. You may have heard some news reports recently about people losing sleep over their financial situation. We're definitely seeing it here. Just a sad situation. Another thing we're seeing is that people not coming into the office, because they lost their health insurance when the were laid off. Or, people not coming into the office as often stating that they cannot afford it. That's how it is here in grassroots America.

Tuesday, March 03, 2009

Apple announced a bunch of new hardware updates today including the flagship iMac, and my fave the mighty Mac Mini. Hmmm. I might have to do my part to stimulate the economy and consider a purchase....

Last night was the premiere of the latest re-incarnation of the "Late Night" show on NBC with its new host Jimmy Fallon. I thought that it was a decent show. The best part is the segment above called "Slow Jam the News" talking about the passage of the stimulus bill.

I hope they continue this segment on the show. Maybe I'll do a slow jam on the Dr. A show - but I would need a great backup band - and some comedy writers - and a decent host - hehe. Best part of this segment is when he says "added an amendment." Did you catch it? Hilarious!

Sunday, March 01, 2009

Yesterday, our community hospital put on our annual educational conference. Because I'm a geek/techie (and I wanted to play around with my photo editor), I took some pics during the thing, put the little slideshow thing to music, and the result is the video above. Going to a CME hasn't looked so much fun, right? Anyway, it was fun to put togther.

In trying to get away from talking about work on the weekend, I've been a part of something really fun. As you know, I've had my internet radio show for a while. In addition to this, I've come to enjoy other shows like "Annie & Burl Live." Over the past few weeks, they have had a radio drama called "One Bromance To Give" (Don't ask about the title hehe). Anyway, this is a little look on how something like that is put together. In the above video, you'll see how it looks from my perspective in recording this gem of a radio show.